


lock & key

by gann0n



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/F, most of the dialogue is canon, this is 3k words of violet pining, this is like ep 1 - 2, violet being a gay disaster as usual, you can take brotp louis and violet from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 00:30:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18354884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gann0n/pseuds/gann0n
Summary: Violet has never been a fan of talking to people. Or about her feelings. Clementine changes that.Or,Violet learns that you have to be open sometimes.





	lock & key

There were certain skills that would have been hard for Violet to learn even without walkers running around eating people, and subtlety was one of them. 

So when the new girl showed up, Violet told herself that no, she wasn’t staring, that she just wanted to get a good look at the person who’d somehow survived walkers with a kid in tow, to almost die in a car crash. And if it so happened that said girl, Clementine, was attractive (seriously, who looked that good fresh from the outside) that had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all, she told herself, ignoring how her stomach flipped when the two made eye contact.

It was still nothing, she reminded herself, when Clementine bypassed Louis’ joke told her she kicked ass out there, although a smile was on her face before she could stop herself. She found herself looking at Clementine and smiling more time than she could count over the next few days, especially after that conversation the first night. 

“I know I sometimes have a habit… have a habit of being a little bit too harsh.” Violet had admitted, knowing she could have made a better first impression than indirectly blaming Clementine for the increased walker activity. 

“You come off all right. I thought you were pretty cool.” Clementine said, and that was not an answer Violet ever expected. It was a kindness she didn’t usually get. 

“Oh. Um. Thanks, I guess.” had been Violet’s eloquent response. She still kicked herself thinking about it, but compliments were few and far between when it came to Violet’s social skills. She had no idea what to say. 

That wasn’t the only time, either. Violet was glad when Clem and AJ tagged along as they went fishing. She didn’t think she would be able to stand it being just her and Brody for very long. And when Violet apologized for being weird about seeing them in Minnie and Sophie’s room, Clementine said she was glad they got to know each other instead of the the “Yeah, whatever.”, Violet was expecting: 

Clementine then trusted Violet enough to plead for her aid when Marlon lost his mind. It was hard not to notice those things, and even harder to not search for smaller, hidden meanings in Clementine’s actions.

Of course, Violet knew her own actions had their own meanings as well. Telling everyone to back off of AJ after Marlon’s lifeless body hit the floor didn’t earn her any brownie points, and not speaking at Marlon’s grave earned her the ire of all the other Ericson kids. It didn’t help when she told them they were all to blame, that everyone should have asked more questions instead of blindly following Marlon. They were grieving—new, raw grief at the loss of a leader, and Violet tried to understand, but her own heart was still too heavy because of Minnie and Sophie. And knowing the truth now made it difficult to feel anything for Marlon except distaste. Minutes before AJ put a bullet in his head, everyone was calling Marlon out for labeling them as “disposable”, and they were supposed to just forget that? Bullshit. She had no one on her side that day, and she knew the vote would not go Clementine’s way. 

She was seething with rage when she went with Louis to deliver the news. And when Clementine—the same Clementine who Violet could tell took shit from no one, the same person who stared down Marlon even while he pointed a gun at her, someone who was dependable and exactly what they needed—didn’t contest their vote, she was more upset, doubly so when Louis wouldn’t shut the fuck up and prattled on and on about how they’d be fine, like he’d ever seen the outside once. Then the raiders, and when her stomach sank as she saw Clem and AJ pinned, Violet knew she already cared more than she should have. She wanted nothing more than to let that arrow fly into that woman’s head, but she allowed (yes, allowed) herself to be patient and trust Clementine when she told them to run. 

When Clementine showed up again, an injured AJ with her, Violet wasn’t shocked. When Clementine decided to stay, drew up a plan to fortify the school and oversaw operations as they waited, Violet knew her plan to not care, to not let anyone in, had failed. But how was she supposed to not care? The reason she was so hesitant to be...open was because everyone left. Her own family shipped her away. Minnie wasn’t there anymore. Violet had to to watch her Ericson family kick Clementine to the curb and almost certain death, and then watched her match right back in and help them. God, was she strong. And brave. And always there, always a presence. Violet, who didn’t get attached, was already used to Clementine being a constant presence.

Clementine, who didn’t seem to mind her less than stellar social skills and told Violet that she was capable of being a leader. Lots of other people tended to pay her no mind, which was how Violet liked it. Less people to care about. Less people to grow attached to. However, her warm attitude (as warm as Violet could be, anyway), did not escape the notice of Louis. 

“You’ve got to learn to be subtle.” He said one day as they surveyed their defenses, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Or I fear everyone may know of your...affections for our dear Clementine.”

Violet scoffed. “You asked her if she’d ever had a boyfriend like the first day you met her.” 

“Yes.” He agreed. “And you know that question was just as much for me as it was for you. But that’s part of my charm. No one questions it when I do things like that. But when Ericson’s resident loner starts drifting off with a smile on her face or volunteering to do work that involves people? It raises some eyebrows. And the staring, Violet. Maybe do less of that.” 

“I don’t stare.” Violet lied, shrugging out of Louis’ grip to cross her arms over her chest. Panic flooded her body almost instantly. Had Clementine noticed, and was she upset? Weirded out, even? She and Clem talked on a regular basis, with the threat of raiders constantly present, and Violet hadn’t picked up on anything different in the last few days. Then again, her people skills did leave much to be desired and it was possible she just wasn’t noticing it. 

“Really?” Louis asked. “That’s not what word around the school is. I’ve got a direct source and everything this time.”

“Yeah?” Violet said, although she was kind of terrified to hear the answer. “Who?”

“The kid. AJ. Was on patrol with him, and then he turns to me and goes “Do you think Clem sees when Violet looks at her all the time?” That’s how obvious it is, Vi. A six year old can pick up on it.”

“AJ isn’t exactly a regular six year old.” Violet defended, although that was another thing she admired about Clementine. How many people were struggling to survive out there? And Clementine had not only survived, but raised a kid while doing that. A kid who was admittedly a bit trigger-happy, but Violet really couldn’t fault Clementine given the circumstances.

“I think a blind six year old would see you’ve got it bad.” Louis said. “Like I said. You need to be more subtle.”

“Hmm.” Violet said. “Should I play her a song with her name in it that she’s probably heard 100 times?”

“Ouch.” Louis said, putting a hand above his heart. “No need to get personal, Vi. I have feelings. And you should do something about yours.” He added, and ducked just out of reach as Violet tried to hit him.

 

Violet sighed. 

 

She spent the rest of the week trying not to get caught staring and trying her hand at this “subtle” thing. She was almost envious of Louis and the way he could say whatever he was thinking, whenever he wanted, and it was always Louis being Louis. Then again, it meant most people didn’t take him seriously and when everyone was on edge with the raiders lurking around somewhere, no one was in the mood for jokes. Violet was beginning to feel like this whole thing was a joke as she watched Willy punch Aasim right in the gut and then scamper off. When Louis proposed something to “break the tension” she figured it couldn’t get any worse. Everyone was already annoyed and on edge, and sometimes Louis’ plans did work. Sometimes. When he pulled out his pack of cards and announced the game of choice was truth or dare, Violet was intrigued, wondering how long he’d had this idea and if there was some underlying plan, then smiled a bit as she thought of her own. 

Cards were passed around, and much to her delight, she had the highest card, and the person in possession of the lowest one was Clementine. 

“This should be good. Let’s see.” She pretended to think, but the question was burning through her brain and it seemed like the words spilled out her mouth. “Truth. Marry-Fuck-Kill.”

“Vi.” Tenn scolded.

“Fine. Marry-Flip-Kill.” She corrected. “Ruby, Aasim, or James, that guy who saved you.”

“Oh my god.” Clem sighed.”

“You gotta answer. Them's the rules.” Louis reminded her. 

Violet’s grand, clever plan was pretty simple. If Clementine put Ruby in any other category besides “kill” it meant that she was interested in women. Maybe. Possibly. It could also mean that she didn’t want to fuck or marry Ruby and have absolutely nothing to do with her sexuality, or that she didn’t want to embarrass poor Aasim. Shit. Was that the wrong thing to ask? It would have been too obvious if she made all Clem’s choices women (incredibly obvious, seeing as she’d have to include herself in there) but if she made all the choices men, she’d never know. 

Her inner voice nagged that she could just ask Clem since it wasn’t exactly the best kept secret around that Violet was gay, but this was a part of that subtle thing Louis was talking about, right? It was trying not to be so blatant that AJ could pick up on it. 

“I would marry Ruby.” Clementine said, and Violet felt her heart flutter at the response. So there was hope, then. Maybe.

“Watch out, Aasim.” Louis cautioned. “She’s totally gonna swoop in and ruin your dream.” 

“You got to admit, Clem’s a way better catch than you.” Violet said, and mentally patted herself on the back. That was definitely flirting, right? But not too over the top.

She was still a bit taken aback when Clementine said she’d “flip” James, not because he was a man but rather because Clem mentioned in passing that he wore walker skin. Ugh. She shuddered a bit at the thought, but laughed when Aasim breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that Clem did not marry or “flip” him.

His relief subsided, however, when Clem gleefully told him to go ask Ruby for a kiss. The group roared with laughter at his misfortune after Ruby didn’t take to kindly to his asking. They drew cards again, and Violet didn’t miss the glint of mischief in Louis’ eyes. 

“So, Clem,” he began, after that line about unrequited love and Violet knew where this was going and couldn’t stop herself from groaning as he asked her if there was anyone she “like-liked”.

“Seriously? “Like-like?” She echoed. “What are you, six?”

“Seven, thank you.” Louis said, but Violet was more focused on Clementine as she waited anxiously for an answer. She hoped she wasn’t sweaty as she felt her heart beat rapidly in her chest. 

So much for not letting anyone in, right? She told herself. After Minnie, she didn’t think she would ever get like this for anyone else, and maybe it was a bit of a naive promise at the time and the mindset of someone who was still grieving. But it had held true for a whole year, until now. 

“Yeah. Definitely.” Clementine said, and Violet thought she was going to pass out. Louis asked her who it was, and moved on quickly (for Louis) when Clem decided to keep that particular detail a secret. 

The game wrapped up soon after and Violet’s heart was still going haywire. She announced she was going to the bell tower, saying something about checking the defenses, which was true. For the most part. She also needed to clear her head after Clementine admitted she had feelings for someone and what that meant. She had to be talking about Louis. Violet knew she wasn’t likable and pushed people away. Sure, Clementine didn’t seem to mind those things, but Violet hadn’t been outright in how she felt, except for the damn staring. Why would Clem have feelings for her? 

To her surprise, she heard footsteps and Clem caught up with her. Well, the chances of Violet having a clear head tonight shot down to about negative fifty percent. She wasn’t able to think that well when Clem was around.

Well, fuck it, she decided. She would tell Clem. Tonight. Either it was Louis that Clem had feelings for, or…

Her heart thumped wildly as she dared to let her mind wander in that fantasy.

She was going to get this off her chest, tonight. It was worse to not know than to torture herself like this.

As they climbed up to the tower, Violet noticed her palms were sweaty and prayed for the first time in years, hoping she wouldn’t do something stupid like slip and break her leg. That certainly wouldn’t impress Clem. They made it to the top of the tower without incident, and the two surveyed their defenses. 

“It’s everything we planned.” Clem said.

“We couldn’t have done it without you.” Violet said. A silence passed between them. “You’ve got lookout duty tonight, right?”

“Yep, me and AJ.” Clem said. 

Violet took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to ask. “Do you have time to hang out first?” 

“Sure.” Clem said, like it was the easiest decision in the world. They looked at the stars for a few seconds as Violet remarked that she needed the quiet sometimes. 

She took another deep breath, and decided to ask Clementine another question that she’d been wondering for a while now, about why she stayed. She knew it put Clem on the spot, but everyone else in her life left, one way or another. She needed to know why Clementine was the exception. Violet expected the answer to be something like, “It’s safe here.”, which was of course perfectly reasonable. Anything was better than outside, especially with a kid in tow. 

“Why would I go anywhere else, if you’re here?” Clementine asked and Violet couldn’t come up with a clever response. Here she was, about to pour out her heart and expose her most vulnerable side, for better or worse, and Clementine was… doing the same thing, letting Violet know just why she’d come back. Violet was the reason. 

Violet, who was sent away and discarded and largely forgotten, was the reason someone like Clementine, who was beautiful and reliable and everything Violet could ever hope for, returned to this shit show. Violet was so wrapped up in the awful parts of being vulnerable, the terror at setting yourself up to be hurt, that she’d forgotten about the other part of it. The exhilaration, the passion, the freedom of it. 

“I’m glad.” She said, which was about the longest sentence she was able to form with her thoughts running around in her head. Clem asked if she knew any constellations and after it became apparent that neither of them did, she proposed that they make up their own. And it was fun, sure, calming even, but Violet knew now was the time.

“It’s just,” She began, shifting around to face Clementine. “I’ve watched people leave before. Family, friends. They never come back. But, you did. And now I can’t imagine what it would be like if you weren’t here.”

It was true. Violet didn’t count on people to be a fixed part of her life. Even before the walkers. But Clem was that person. Who came back. Who stayed. 

“Shit, that sounds so much dumber when I say it out loud.”

“I think, I mean,” Clementine began. “I hope we’re more than friends,” and Violet was sure she was dreaming. It was possible she did pass out at the truth or dare game, and this was all some dream. “And I want..” Clem hesitated, and Violet’s mind scrambled to fill in the blanks as she stared, wide-eyed. To take it slow? To forget this ever happened? To—

Holy shit. Clem was kissing her. She was too shocked to react.This was for sure a dream, right? Any moment now, she would wake up and curse out her subconscious for making such a realistic dream, and—

Cold air hit her face as Clem pulled away, and Violet remembered that she needed to breathe.

“Holy shit.” She said, breathless, a warm and fuzzy feeling spreading throughout her whole body.

“That’s romantic.” Clementine said. 

“I mean, holy shit.” Violet said again. The words to be charming and romantic were escaping her as she tried to process what had just happened. Clementine deserved better than Violet fumbling around awkwardly for words, so Violet reached for her hand and hoped that was enough. It worked.   
Clementine smiled, and with the constellations they mapped out clear against the night sky, it was perfect. The kind of night Violet always dreamed of, but was never able to open up enough to get. 

Opening up was the hard part. This was easy, made it so easy to forget the revolving cast of characters in her life before this. Unlike everyone else, she could trust that Clementine would come back.

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be a quick writing exercise and it turned into this  
> the first time i saw this romance i was like “huh so violet really just opened up like that after distancing herself from everyone else” and then i read a bunch from the writers about how violet allows herself to fall for clem because clem comes back and can be a constant figure in her life, so this is how i think violet’s mind works  
> i really like her character so let me know if i did her justice


End file.
